U.S. Approves $250M Australia Super Hornet and Growler Training Package for Indo-Pacific Readiness.

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $250 million Foreign Military Sale to Australia that will strengthen training and support for Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, according to a June 25, 2026, notification. The package does not add aircraft, but it helps Australia keep its fast-jet crews, electronic warfare specialists, and maintainers aligned with U.S. tactics, procedures, and software-driven combat operations.

The support covers classified and unclassified aircrew instruction, maintenance training, protective equipment, technical manuals, logistics services, and U.S. Government or contractor assistance. For Australia, the key gain is training depth and fleet readiness, ensuring its Super Hornet and Growler force can sustain high-tempo strike and electronic attack missions in a contested Indo-Pacific environment.

Related topic: U.S. Awards Lockheed Martin $35.3B THAAD Interceptor Deal for High Altitude Missile Defense Production.

Australia’s $250 million U.S. training package will sustain RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, reinforcing crew readiness, maintenance capacity, and interoperability for long-range strike and electromagnetic warfare missions in the Indo-Pacific (Picture source: U.S. DoW).

Australia’s F/A-18F Super Hornets are operated by No. 1 Squadron from RAAF Base Amberley and reached Final Operational Capability in December 2012. The aircraft is a two-seat multirole fighter with a pilot and weapon systems officer, 18.3 m length, 13.6 m wingspan, 29,900 kg maximum take-off weight, two F414-GE-400 turbofans rated at 22,000 lb of thrust each, a stated range of 2,700 km, a ceiling of 50,000 ft, and a maximum speed of 1,960 km/h, or Mach 1.6. The RAAF lists its missions as air interception, air combat, close air support, and interdiction of supply lines, including shipping.

The armament is central to why the F/A-18F remains useful in Australian service even after the arrival of the F-35A. For air combat, it carries AIM-120 AMRAAM beyond-visual-range missiles and AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range missiles; for strike, it can employ JDAM and Laser JDAM guided bombs, conventional and laser-guided bombs, and AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapons; for maritime attack, it can carry the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile; and for close-range use, it retains the M61A2 20 mm nose-mounted gun. Boeing states that the Super Hornet family has 11 weapons stations and more than 400 load configurations, which gives Australia flexibility to trade fuel, sensors, air-to-air missiles, anti-ship weapons, and precision-guided munitions according to mission distance and threat density.

The EA-18G Growler is operated by No. 6 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley and achieved Initial Operational Capability in April 2019. Australia lists 12 Growlers under that squadron, each crewed by a pilot and electronic warfare officer, with the same F414 engine family as the Super Hornet, a stated range of 1,570 km when fully armed with external fuel tanks, a 50,000 ft ceiling, and Mach 1.6 maximum speed. Its equipment includes ALQ-99 low- and high-band jamming pods, enhanced situational awareness and networking systems, AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles, AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, and AIM-9X Sidewinders.

In tactical terms, the Growler’s value is that it can contest the electromagnetic spectrum before and during a strike. U.S. Navy data lists a representative combat load of two AIM-120 missiles, three ALQ-99 tactical jamming pods, two AGM-88 HARM missiles, and two 480-gallon external fuel tanks, with a combat range above 850 nautical miles. DOT&E reporting states that the EA-18G can carry up to five ALQ-99 pods, integrate them with the internal AN/ALQ-218 electronic warfare system, and use noise and deception techniques against land-based, surface-based, and airborne radar systems. This means the aircraft can support standoff jamming, escort jamming, self-protection, tactical reconnaissance, and suppression of enemy air defenses during the same campaign sequence.

The anti-radiation missile component is becoming more important as Australia shifts from a defensive air force posture to one designed to hold adversary sensors and command networks at risk at longer range. In January 2025, Canberra announced up to A$650 million for additional Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range stocks, following an earlier A$431 million commitment in August 2023. The missiles are intended for the F/A-18F, EA-18G, and later the F-35A, and are designed to detect, attack, and destroy enemy radar systems. That procurement connects directly with this training case, because the operational effect of AARGM-ER depends on mission planning, threat library accuracy, emitter identification, aircrew coordination, and maintenance of classified systems.

Australia needs these aircraft because its defense geography imposes distance, maritime exposure, and warning-time problems that cannot be solved by fifth-generation fighters alone. The 2024 National Defence Strategy states that deterrence by denial is now the cornerstone of defense planning, with the ADF required to defend Australia and its immediate region, deter attempts to project power through the northern approaches, protect economic connections, and contribute to Indo-Pacific collective security. The same strategy added $5.7 billion over four years and $50.3 billion over ten years above the previous defense funding path, with emphasis on preparedness, long-range strike, targeting, and an integrated force.

The practical significance of the FMS case is therefore narrower, but more consequential, than the headline amount suggests. Australia is paying to preserve a trained human and technical base for two aircraft types that perform different but linked tasks: the F/A-18F provides weapons carriage, strike flexibility, maritime attack, and two-crew mission management; the EA-18G provides electronic attack, emitter targeting, and suppression of radar-dependent defenses. The central issue is whether Australia can generate trained crews, maintainers, mission data, and weapons-employment procedures at the pace required for a regional contingency.

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